Dispelling the myth of high-price living

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C ertain drug classes have been associated with increased emergency room visits and inpatient admissions by seniors, among them antidiabetics, anticoagulants, and antihistamines. A team of researchers has added another drug class to this list as the result of a recent study published in the journal Pharmacotherapy . These drugs are called anticholinergics. They are commonly used by almost half of...

A lthough being a full-time caregiver has been associated with an increased risk of stress and illness, helping or caring for others on a part-time basis can lead to a longer life, according to a new study. An international team of researchers analyzed data from 1990 to 2009 provided by the Berlin Aging Study. They focused on survival rates of grandparents age 70 to 103 years who care for...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the most serious fall-related injuries is a fractured hip. Over 300,000 people over age 65 in this country are hospitalized for hip fractures each year. Many people need their hip joint replaced due to arthritis even if they haven’t fallen. In fact, a growing number of people are receiving hip implants, mainly due to the aging of...

It’s been known for many years that between 71% and 85% of seasonal flu-related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older, and between 54% and 70% of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations have occurred among people in the same age group. Jump-starting the immune response Seniors are at greater risk of flu-related complications and death because of age-related weakening of the immune...

A Na tional Institutes of Health-sponsored study has challenged commonly held assumptions that sex is good for everybody’s health. Researchers collected baseline data from 2,204 study participants in the 2005-2006 National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, and then followed up five years later. They found that men who had sex at least weekly had twice the risk of experiencing a...

If you have been denied additional physical therapy services because you have reached your so-called maximum improvement, you might want to appeal that decision. Maintenance, not improvement The maximum-improvement standard was never an official part of Medicare coverage policies, and it’s not entirely clear why it was put into effect. A 2013 class action settlement specified that the standard...

R esearchers from University of Washington have found that surgery may trump medical management of intermittent claudication, a symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). About eight million Americans are affected by PAD, and most of them have intermittent claudication, which is pain in the calf or foot while walking and, in severe cases, while at rest. Medical management of PAD involves...

S cientists from the University of Southern California have tested a treatment in animal models that might translate into a future treatment for people who have had a stroke. Specifically, the experimental treatment may help prevent or reverse the permanent brain damage that can accompany ischemic strokes, the type responsible for 87% of strokes in the U.S. In ischemic strokes, a blood clot...

S cientists from Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Neurological Institute have found that people with peripheral neuropathy can tango their way to better balance. Peripheral neuropathy causes numbness, tingling, and sometimes pain in the arms or legs because of nerve damage. Studies show that the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy among seniors ranges from about 25% to 55%. These...